Learning to Avoid Scholastic Fraud
Two different students, two different outcomes:
Juli Keene of Manhattan Beach enrolled in the National Institute of Nutritional Education and, after two years, earned the necessary credentials to obtain a license as a nutritional counselor.
Jamie Stockdale of Oceanside enrolled at Columbia State University, Louisiana, for a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in criminal justice. The day before she was to mail her final paper to a campus in Metairie, La., she learned that the school was actually operating out of a San Clemente warehouse, and had been raided by federal authorities. The school’s owner, who had been enjoying the good life in a $2-million mansion, was nowhere to be found.
Both the National Institute of Nutritional Education and Columbia State University are considered distance-education schools--a term that encompasses any academic or job-training program administered outside a traditional classroom. Instead of hearing a lecture as a group, students get printed materials, audio and video tapes, computer software and television courses.
What is the difference between the schools? Valid accreditation, and the buyer should beware.
The National Institute of Nutritional Education is recognized by the Distance Education and Training Council; Columbia State University is not.
In fact, the Louisiana attorney general’s office has obtained a permanent injunction against Columbia State University, banning it from operating in the state, or receiving mail or telephone calls.
“There’s no school, no accreditation, and all the research, testimonials and degrees are bogus,” said Louisiana State Atty. Gen. Richard Ieyoub, whose office is investigating similar distance-learning programs.
Education experts say there may be as many as 350 fraudulent distance-learning institutions in the world--or about 5% of the total number. But they also note that standards kept by the legitimate ones also vary.
“Because there is so much gray area, it’s a good idea to stay with schools that have valid accreditation,” said John Bear, who has a doctorate in communication from Michigan State University and wrote “Bear’s Guide to Earning Degrees Non-Traditionally” (Ten Speed Press, 1998, $28).
The issue of accreditation is one of the most important factors in selecting a school yet is perhaps the least understood. It is a voluntary practice based on evaluations by various agencies and is not controlled by federal or state governments.
Accreditation agencies set the standards for an entire institution or for specific programs within a school. Traditional public and private colleges and universities are usually accredited by six regional agencies. California State Universities and University of California schools are accredited by the Western Assn. of Schools and Colleges.
Many trade organizations and professional associations, such as the American Bar Assn., also grant accreditation status to specific departments or highly specialized schools that offer only one kind of degree.
Other agencies, such as the Distance Education and Training Council, grant accreditation status to schools specializing in distance education. The DETC is an accrediting agency for more than 60 distance-education institutions throughout the U.S. enrolling 2 million people.
Students can get accreditation information from the U.S. Department of Education and the Council on Higher Education Accreditation.
But “if a school is accredited by an agency not recognized by either of these associations, run, don’t walk,” said Michael Lambert of the DETC.
Experts concede there are some instances when national accreditation may not be a deciding factor for a prospective student. Many schools might be in the process of securing recognition by legitimate agencies. In others, a student might simply want to learn more about a particular job skill or take a few courses to lead to a promotion rather than using distance learning to earn an undergraduate or graduate degree.
To avoid spending money on an unaccredited diploma mill, Bear recommends studying up on the distance-education programs that interest you.
“Earning a degree is something you only do once or twice in your lifetime,” Bear said. “People must understand there’s thin ice out there. Not doing your homework is like getting married after the first date.”
The starting points?
* Speak to your employer before investing time and money in training that might not translate into a promotion or higher salary.
* Confirm that the school is more than a mailbox-only operation.
* Be wary of degrees awarded on the basis of credit for life experience.
At Columbia State University, students “earned” credits for keeping tropical fish and playing board games.
“We think credit for life experience is very dangerous,” said the DETC’s Lambert. “At our schools, you cannot get more than 25% of the necessary degree credits for life experience, and most of our schools don’t even go close to 10%.”
Legitimate schools assist students in creating a portfolio of all relevant experiences that may be converted into college credits. Nationally recognized standardized exams are also available.
“It’s really up to the school to decide what to accept, and that’s why it can be so dangerous,” Lambert said. “A degree mill will give you up to 75% or more.”
* Check whether those credits can be transferred, regardless whether a school is accredited. “Accreditation does not provide automatic acceptance by an institution of credit earned at another institution, nor does it give assurance of acceptance of graduates by employers,” the federal education department says.
Also, the American College Advisory Service in Washington, D.C., offers a fee-based service to help adult learners select a school, transfer credits and evaluate life-experience achievements.
* Use common sense. Bear, who has heard from more than 400 people who didn’t, said a prison psychologist who received a worthless doctorate “didn’t think it was odd that the school had no phone number.”
* Do your research. There are a reliable directories, including the “Pocket Guide to College Credits and Degrees,” which is available through the American Council on Education.
America’s Learning Exchange is a new service offering information about education and training developed by the U.S. Department of Labor and others.
The good news?
More students are finding distance learning convenient, and more colleges are offering programs. Many community colleges, state universities and private institutions are making some form of distance education available to their students, and a national group of state governors is promoting distance-learning linkages between colleges and universities, whatever the location.
According to the American Council on Education, 85% of existing traditional institutions soon will offer distance-learning courses.
The Web site for the California Virtual University lists courses and degrees available at 96 colleges and universities in California. Western Governors University’s Web site introduces students to a brokerage arrangement that allows them to earn degrees by taking classes at a number of institutions in the western part of the United States.
Many public and private schools also offer distance education for the technologically challenged. Audio and video tapes, as well as textbooks, are staples of some institutions. However, most distance education is conducted via a combination of conventional printed materials, Internet research and e-mail.
In “Web based” or “computer mediated” education, online class meetings are often conducted as chat rooms, places where students exchange ideas and get together in groups to solve problems and work on projects.
“There’s a hundred times more interaction between the students I teach online and those I teach in a traditional classroom,” said Ken Orgill, who teaches at the University of Phoenix, a nontraditional institution founded in 1976. “The format is built around the students talking to each other and sharing their professional experiences. Students learn from each other.”
A recent survey conducted by the DETC of its schools shows the average distance-education student is 34 and is employed full-time; more than 40% have previous college credits or a completed degree.
Orgill is convinced there can be a better exchange of ideas and information in the virtual environment.
“Eventually we have to come to the realization that all learning does not have to take place with the talking head. We can use a mixture of media,” he said.
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Going to the Source
To check accreditation or receive more information, contact:
* U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20202-0498, (800) USA-LEARN; https://www.ed.gov.
* Council on Higher Education Accreditation, 1 Dupont Circle, Washington, DC 20036; https://www.chea.org.
For more information on distance learning, contact:
* American College Advisory Service in Washington, D.C.; https://www.acas.com.
* American Council on Education, 1 Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 250, Washington, DC 20036-1193; https://www.ACENET.edu. The “Pocket Guide to College Credits and Degrees” is not limited to distance education but lists useful contacts.
* America’s Learning Exchange; https://www.alx.org.
* California Virtual University; https://www.california.edu.
* Distance Education and Training Council’s “Directory of Accredited Institutions” contains information about schools it accredits; https://www.detc.org.
* Western Governors University; https://www.wgu.edu.
* To request restitution from Columbia State University or to speak to a staff member, call the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Information Line, (800) 351-4889.
